Business Digest - Vindicator

Chemical Bank has donated $15,000 to the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp.’s housing programs.

This donation will increase the number of successful and sustainable home-owners in neighborhoods throughout Youngstown by providing prospective home buyers with a comprehensive portfolio of services beginning with YNDC’s HUD Approved Housing Counseling services.

The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation is a citywide planning and development organization working to stabilize and revitalize neighborhoods throughout Youngstown.

Appreciation day at Hollywood Gaming

AUSTINTOWN

Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course will have its second Racing Fan Appreciation Day on Saturday, marking the end of the 2016-17 racing season.

The activities include: 10:30 a.m., question-and- answer seminar with the leading jockeys and trainer; Noon to 3:45 p.m., any racing fan using a Marquee Rewards card to wager on the day’s races will have a chance to be randomly selected for a free gift voucher; 12:15 p.m. to 3:45 p.m., T-shirt tosses in between each live race of the day; and at 3:45 p.m., a mandatory payout of the Buckeye Pick 6.

New business filings in Ohio

COLUMBUS

Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted on Thursday announced 12,827 new entities filed to do business in Ohio during March, an increase of 2,349 when compared with the same month in 2016. Today’s announcement makes March the best month for new-business formation in Ohio’s history.

US jobless aid applications fall

WASHINGTON

Fewer Americans sought unemployment benefits last week, which is evidence of a stable job market and greater security for workers.

Weekly applications for jobless aid dipped 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 234,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. Requests for benefits in the prior week were revised up 1,000 to 235,000. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, fell to 247,250 from 250,250.

Over the past year, the number of people collecting unemployment benefits has fallen 6.9 percent to 2 million.

Applications are a proxy for layoffs. They have stayed below 300,000, a level linked with broader job growth, for 110 weeks. That’s the longest period at such a low level since 1970, when the U.S. population was much smaller.